Pocahontas State Park is a state park located in

Chesterfield, Virginia Chesterfield is an unincorporated community that is the county seat of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It was a census-designated place (CDP) at the 2020 census. It was not delineated as a CDP for the 2010 census. The Chesterfield ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, not far from the state capitol of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. The park was laid out by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

along the Swift Creek, and at was, at its creation, Virginia's largest state park. As of 2015, the yearly visitation was 1,142,601. The park is named after

Chief Powhatan Powhatan ( c. 1547 – c. 1618), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommaca ...

's daughter

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

Civilian Conservation Corps Museum

The park is the site of the

Museum with exhibits about the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Virginia. Located in a building constructed by the CCC, the museum's exhibits include photographs, artifacts and personal mementos.

Mountain biking

There are many miles of mountain biking singletrack available at Pocahontas for a variety of skill levels. These narrow trails feature log hops, tight turns, water crossings, and rock gardens. The park uses a ski style grading system to mark the singletrack, that is different from other trails in the park. There are 3 distinct trail systems in the park, Morgan trail system, Lakeview trail system, and the newest system, Swift Creek trail system. These trails are maintained in large part by a 501c3 volunteer organization, the Friends of Pocahontas aka FOPSP. A number of races occur annually in the park. In addition to the single track, there are miles and miles of multi-use fire roads around the park. A number of fairly well-marked routes exist for visitors to follow.

Fishing

The park has a number of streams and lakes for fishing. The park also has a few fishing events and permit-free days, except for catching small panfish, largemouth bass, and pike.

External links

Pocahontas State Park
- official website
Civilian Conservation Corps Museum at Pocahontas State Park

References

State parks of Virginia Parks in Chesterfield County, Virginia Museums in Chesterfield County, Virginia Civilian Conservation Corps museums History museums in Virginia Civilian Conservation Corps in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Chesterfield County, Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Protected areas established in 1946 1946 establishments in Virginia {{ChesterfieldCountyVA-NRHP-stub